Fan Fiction - Written by Doug Fowler - Television Universe

A Hike On The Wild SideWritten by: Doug Fowler

In "Stephanie's Wild Ride," D.J. reveals that she and Kimmy hitchhiked to Berkeley and back on Halloween when she was 13. This story looks at that incident and their friendship. Hope you like it - not many Kimmy stories around.

D.J. Tanner, thirteen, laughed. Her baby sister, Michelle, looked so cute in her Dennis the
Menace outfit, complete with very messed up hair and bubble gum in said hair. "I'm glad you
two don't have to wear hats," D.J. said. "It took a lot of hairspray to get Michelle looking just
right." And those red suspenders of hers, plus Stephanie's old t-shirt, were adorable.

"Now, don't make me sit in the corner," the near-four-year-old said, glaring at her sister,
Stephanie, who was eight.

Stephanie grinned. She'd had thid idea after Michelle had been so recalcitrant the previous
month, she'd become the first of the girls to actually have to sit in the corner as punishment. They
usually just got sent to their rooms, sometimes for a while to think about the fact they were
grounded, if their misdeed was bad enough. Luckily, Michelle had been very good since.

"It all depends on how you behave. I kind of like the idea of going as Dennis' mom,"
Stephanie remarked. "And we've already got a friend Joey. Of ccourse, he's the one walking us
around this year for Halloween."

At that moment, Joey Gladstone appeared in the doorway, dressed in his Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtle outfit. Joey was a professional comedian, and the girls' dad's best friend. He and
their Uncle Jesse had moved into the Tanner household to help raise the girls after their mom,
Pam Tanner, died in a car accident. Jesse was at a party with his girlfriend, Becky.

"All ready, kids," Joey said excitedly. They cheered. "Steph, Michelle, you look just like the
cartoon characters," he complimented them.

"Thanks, Joey. And you look just like a great big turtle," Stephanie remarked.

"Come on. Let's go get candy," Michelle demanded.

"Well, have a great time," D.J. reported, suddenly thinking of something. She touched
Stephanie's shoulder. They shared a room - and D.J.'s telephone. "Oh, if when you get home
anyone calls for me, don't say I'm sleeping over at Kimmy's. Just say I'm having too much fun
getting scared out of my wits, and take a message. You won't be lying," she assured them.

Their dad, Danny, had snuck up behind her. "Don't worry, sweetheart, we won't disturb you.
Just remember, it's a busy day tomorrow. You promised to be in bed by 10:30."

D.J. sighed. "I know, Dad. We're gonna walk down to the video store, and then watch two
movies and go to bed," she said nervously.

Danny turned his full attention to Stephanie, which relieved D.J.. She feared she'd sounded
too anxious. If she had, he hadn't noticed. "Steph, I know you wish Allie were coimng over, but
remember, this would be her first sleepover, and you want it to be when you can say up half the
night. You got scared and had to come home when you tried to sleep over this summer." Danny
shook his head. "Why they call it sleeping over I'll never know. I mean, Joey and I never slept in
them during high school..."

"Dad, it's okay," Stephanie said as Michelle pulled her arm. "You're right, Allie would just
fall asleep at nine, anyway. We want to prepare for it right. Sleeping bags, the living room, and
four movies Saturday night." Michelle had pulled her away before she could hear Danny say
"how about three."

D.J. hugged her dad, and then met Kimmy on the sidewalk. D.J. was quite pensive as they
walked to the video store.

"Gee, Deej, what's wrong? You've hardly said a word."

D.J. nodded slowly. "I know. I've just got a bad feeling about this."

"Come on, Deej. You and I both agreed hitchhiking to Berkeley would be great fun for
Halloween night. What better way to get scared out of our wazoos," Kimmy declared. "And we
can save our video money for clothes."

"If it were up to me, I'd change my mind, rent a movie, and go back home right now. But,"
she continued smiling weakly, "I think you'd do it anyway." Kimmy nodded.

D.J. sighed inwardly. She'd met Kimberley Louise Gibbler in Kindergarten. Her family had
appeared rather...well, odd, but her mother always said to give away smiles, and soon D.J. and
Kimmy had begun to bond. By age eight or nine, they were best friends.

She gave away one of those smiles to Kimmy as they neared the freeway. They'd been
walking for about twenty minutes. Both had their overnight bags - a requirement, because each
family thought their daughter was sleeping at the others' house. "Now, Kimmy, remember, we
don't hold our thumbs up unless the car looks okay. No scary looking people, only good-looking
cars. And only four-door cars, we want to be able to get out quickly."

Kimmy gave D.J. a frustrated look, though it seemed to contain just a hint of relief. "Gee,
Deej; you take all the fun out of it."

D.J. couldn't help but snicker, just as she sometimes grinned at Stephanie's wisecracks about
Kimmy, at least on the inside. Kimmy could be mighty crazy. But, were it not for D.J., she'd
probably be in much worse shape.

They held their thumbs up for a couple minutes, but nobody stopped. D.J. put hers down, but
Kimmy kept flagging at one car with a good-looking boy, apparently a college student, in it. D.J.
stared. "Kimmy, what are you doing?"

"What?"

"You were giving that boy a look like...I don't want to know what you were thinking," she
said, shaking her head.

"Come on, Deej, do you want to do this or not," Kimmy wondered adamantly.

D.J. looked down a little. She could get suckered into some bad stuff because of Kimmy, like
the time they played with fireworks with Kimmy's older brother when she was nine. Her dad had
been as furious as when Stephanie drove a car into the kitchen earlier this year. He'd taken D.J.
to the ermegency room, to give her a firsthand look at how badly she could have been hurt.

Right now, she was getting the same uneasy, grossed out feeling. She shook her thumb,
though, as she walk with Kimmy. This time, a fellow, about in his fifties, pulled over in a nice red
Ford. "Hey, can I give you girls a lift?"

"Which means he might be safe. Get in," she said in a "let's get this over with" tone. They
opeened the back door, and D.J. pulled Kimmy into the car. Kimmy shut the door.

Kimmy whispered as they buckled their seatbelts. "Boy, Deej, if you wanted to do it this way,
you should have just said we could only ride with women."

"I know, I wish I had," she muttered before turning to the man. "So, where are you from?"

"I live around the college there. That where you want to go?"

"Yeah, our ride left without us, and we need to get back to..." D.J. tried to think of the name
of one of the dorms. She couldn't say their parents lived near there now, because this man might
wonder why he'd never seen them.

Kimmy, however, was not as quick a thinker. In fact, she often didn't like to think. "Our
parents live near there."

The man nodded. "You're lucky I was just going in that way," he remarked.

"Cool. I'll bet you see lots of handsome men at the college," Kimmy noted.

"Not that you aren't handsome," D.J. interjected, not wishing to hurt the man - or scare herself
any further. "I mean, we don't need someone who's handsome, we're not even looking for a guy,
but...well, I mean..."

"Face it, Deej, you're blabbering like your dad," Kimmy declared.

D.J. rolled her eyes. That was another thing - no, two things, that she'd lectured Kimmy about
before they did this. Don't let anyone know anything about us, she'd said, and make them think
we're sisters.

And yet, being with Kimmy was fun. D.J.'s family was always so conservative, she loved to
go for a little walk on the wild side sometimes. She loved her family, and really wanted to be a
good role model to her younger siblings. But, she liked Kimmy, too, and hoped that she could
rub off on her.

"I thought you two were sisters," the fellow said as they drove.

D.J., ever quick thinking, said "We are...we just have different dads."

D.J. claspped a hand over Kimmy mouth. "Kimmy..." She then muttered "oops." D.J.
grinned sheepishly. "Uh, I mean, Kimmy, that's our older sister, she's kind of like a mom for
us...Kimmy would be very upset if we gave our names to a stranger, right?" She glared hard at
Kimmy for a second.

"I guess. Boy, that was quick thinking, Deej. I mean, Penelope."

Penelope? Where does she get that stuff, D.J. wondered. "Yeah, nice going, Ginger, giving
him a few false names."

Kimmy smiled. "Hey, great thinking, Deej; I can be Ginger and you be Mary Ann when we
get there. Figures, this guy looks like the Skipper." D.J. was very thankful that the man laughed.
At least in this car, she wasn't scared - yet.

As he approached a slightly seedy part of town, she became terrified again. "Where do you
girls want left off, tell me your house number and street."

A few stray teens were out wrapping toilet paper around a tree. "Oh, uh...that's Mr. Howell's
house, isn't it. And there's Gilligan," she said pointing to one of the teens.

Kimmy stared hard. "If you say so. But remember, you're Mary Ann, he's got the hots for
you. I'm the movie star all the other boys are going for."

"Riiiiight," D.J. said as she and Kimmy got out of the car and headed toward them. The man
turned his car around and drove back.

D.J. noticed an administration-type building in the distance. They were probably near the
university. "Excuse me," she said to one of the teens.

"She's Mary Ann. And she called you Gilligan," Kimmy explained.

"Don't mind her," D.J. said with a smile. "Are we near the campus at Berkeley? We were
going to our big sister's slumber party, and I think we might be a little lost."

The confused face suddenly lit up. "Ah, I get it. You're probably gonna get in costumes there
and go to the Lincoln Hall party. It started aearlier, but you can still go." He had on a jacket that
told D.J. he was probably a college student, like his friends. "They've always got great stuff for
family." He turned to his friends. "Hey, Mike, Ted, I'm gonna walk these girls over to Lincoln,
since it's gettin' kinda dark." They agreed. "You're not that far, probably just took a wrong
turn."

"Yeah, that's what we did," D.J. remarked. She suddenly realized that they had no costumes,
and yet had talked their way into a costume party.

Kimmy took a pad and paper out of her pocket and looked at the college student with luring
eyes. "Do you think you could give me your phone number?"

"Kimmy...I mean, Ginger," D.J. rebuked her.

"Oh, right, you want this one. That's okay, there'll be plenty of other guys there."

The freshman chuckled. "Actually, I already have a girlfriend. And, you girls look pretty
young for me, anyway. Although there'll probably some boys from the local high school there
that you'll know." He winked at Kimmy.

Kimmy looked at D.J. once they were in the Lincoln lobby. "Did you see the way he looked at
me? You may be Mary Ann, but this Gilligan really likes me."

D.J. shook her head. "Kimmy, look, we just planned to come here and go home. Now that
we're here, we may as well stay a minute. But, remember, no making passes at the college
students."

"Oh, don't worry, Deej. I don't know how I could talk to them, anyway. I wouldn't know
where to begin. I'm gonna be happy with any high school boys."

D.J. was relieved. Part of her thought that Kimmy would be just like Kathy Santoni if not for
her presence. Kathy had been a friend who'd turned into a major run-around Sue type, going
with and kissing every boy around once they got to Junior High. Kimmy liked to talk about that
stuff, but she never got any really interesting boys. D.J. had met a couple, and even kissed one.
Of course, she was only thirteen, but she suspected that she'd get a good looking, nice fellow
before Kimmy did. And as for Kathy? Well, her dad thought she might wind up pregnant
unexpectedly. Danny and the others joked about Kimmy, and were concerned about her influence
on D.J.. But, they were extremely glad D.J. didn't do much anymore with Kathy Santoni.

"What school are you girls from," a voice asked behind her.

D.J. turned to see a woman in her early twenties. "Hi, we're, uh..."

"Vanetta Junior High. But they're redistricting, and next year we'll be in high school and
they'll have a new middle school built for sixth through eighth graders," Kimmy explained.

"Well, you must be the little sibs of one of the other dorm's students. I don't remember any
from our dorm having one in that district." She extended a hand. "I'm Ellen Westbrook, the
Resident Assistant. The party's almost half over, but you're just in time to come watch Psycho'
with us if you're allowed up that late." She led them into the basement. "Will your parents be
picking you up, or will one of the others be taking you home in the morning?" She blushed.
"Silly question, we haven't had any other people come in. I imagine your parents must be coming
to get you."

"Yeah, they will," D.J. assured her. She grinned. This could be quite fun. Plus, they would
get to watch a movie after all. It was one she'd seen, but it was still mighty scary.

The fact she'd seen it allowed her to mingle with the others a little. Some others who'd seen it
actually struck up interesting conversations with her.

Kimmy, meanwhile, sat glued to the set. She beckoned D.J. over a couple times when it got
too scary. Of course, part of this was because Kimmy thought the scary parts were "really cool,"
and that D.J. had to see them, too. Still, D.J. wondered if maybe Kimmy wasn't a little
frightened, too. Maybe it was just her, but sometimes, it seemed that Kimmy backed out of
trouble before it got too bad, leaving D.J. to fumble around in the worst of it, knowing that D.J.
was going to have major problems herself.

They were in this one together, though. As they left the dorm, promising Ellen that their mom
would be waiting in a parking lot, D.J. joked "well, I'm not gonna take a shower for a month.
How about you?"

"Sam here, Deej. Now what?"

"Well, think, Kimmy. I know you don't like to, but it's well after eleven o'clock on a school
night. The only reason we got in is because some parents do let their kids stay up this late, and I
made up a story about how our mom would pick us up on the way home from her shift at the
hospital at 11:30, and we'd be sleeping in the car on the way home. Now, instead of hitchhiking
back at a halfway decent time, here we are stuck in Berkeley near midnight."

"Kimmy, this is crazy." She shook her head, and went over to a park bench to sit down.
Kimmy copied. D.J. was thankful for the light. "I almost had the nerve to ask one of the college
kids there if she could drive us back, but then you interrupted and said we had to get going, and
we had our own way."

"Come on, Deej, where your spirit of adventure? What's life if you don't live it? So we might
get lost." She paused a moment. "Boy, that would be weird, if they figure we just walked to the
video store and disappeared. And then we were mysteriously spotted at this party. Maybe
there'd be mysterious sightings of us all over the place. Like your Uncle Hairboy's favorite
disappearing act, Elvis Presley."

Kimmy walked up to the college boy and smiled. "Hey, Mister, nice looking cat...oh, sorry,
that's a backpack on your shoulder, isn't it?"

The boy in the scarecrow outfit looked oddly at her. "Well, yeah. I'm going back to my
dorm. Aren't you a little young to be out this late? Or are you older than you look?"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm a college student just like you," Kimmy declared. "I know all about
how Sir Isaac Newton invented the fig newton. Then he founded Apple computers after one fell
on his head. But boy, I'm thirsty. I sure could go for a nice big glass of CO2."

D.J. had to laugh - the way the college boy was chuckling, she couldn't stop, anyway.
"Kimmy, water is H2O. As for the Newton stuff...we better have a long talk about that later."
She walked toward the boy as he started to walk away, shaking his head. "Excuse me, but..."

Kimmy called after her. "Deej, come on, we can find a ride." She shook her thumb, pointing
toward the freeway.

"Kimmy, we are. Right here." D.J. smiled apologetically. "My friend and I...well, we were
wondering if you could give us a ride."

The young fellow gasped as D.J explained. "We planned on just hitchhiking right back home,
but then we kind of needed a reason to be here, so..." She shook her head. She couldn't believe
she was admitting this.

Neither could Kimmy. "Deej, come on, why are we stopping now?"

"What in the..." The fellow groped for words. D.J. was thankful that she smelled no alcohol
on his breath. He had apparently been at a different party, though. He sighed. "I could really yell
my head off right now, I've got a younger brother back home and this sounds like the kind of
stunt he'd pull. But I'm sure your parents are gonna give you just as much of a tongue lashing
when you get home."

D.J. nodded slowly. She hoped they could still find a way to get out of this without them
finding out. She hadn't really planned out how to get back, except that they would walk the final
couple blocks, and show up at the Gibblers. Kimmy's parents would be a little more willing to
accept odd stuff, and they would just say they chose to sleep at Kimmy's instead of D.J.'s house.

Now, they'd be getting in well after midnight. Could they even sneak into Kimmy's house?

"Come on, follow me," he said in a grumbling manner.

"So, how are we gonna get out of this one, Deej?"

D.J. shook her head. She knew she'd have to think of a way. Kimmy never could. She just
didn't like to think, and some of her ways were awfully bizarre when she did think.

They entered the dorm, and the gentleman told them to wait. He went into a hall closet and
picked up the phone.

"What if he calls Security?" Kimmy wondered.

D.J. jumped. She hadn't thought of that. A security officer wouldn't accept dropping them
off; they'd likely knock on her dad's door. Suddenly, her thoughts went from "big trouble" to
"grounded for life." "Uh, wait," she said, holding the disconnect lever down. "Why don't you
just call a friend and have her drive us. I mean, why bother Security, it's Halloween, there's
bound to be so many other pranks they have to check."

"Like that tree we saw being teepeed earlier," Kimmy added.

The youth turned toward the young teens. "How do I know this isn't one?'

"Uh..." D.J. stammered. That was a very good question.

Kimmy's weirdness actually seemed to help for once. "I can tell you my phone number, you
look like a cute boy. No, wait, then my parents will wonder how you got it, right, Deej?"

D.J. smiled, nodding. She wouldn't hurt her friend, but she felt like blurting "wow, you got
one right, Kimmy."

"Look, I'll call a friend, but there's no way that she's gonna just drop you off without making
sure you get into your house. People like us are responsible for kids like you because you get into
these dumb messes."

D.J. groaned. Why did she have to pick one with a younger brother?

Then again, she could have found a student who was drunk or something. Perhaps this was
best.

Kimmy took a pen and paper out of her purse. "So, what's your brother's name, maybe I'll
just take down his name and number."

"Puddintame, ask me again and I'll tell you the same," he said sarcastically. He picked up the
phone, and said, "First I need your number, so I can call and make sure this isn't a prank."

D.J. groaned. I'm doomed. Unless...wait a minute. "Here, I'll tell you the number to my
room." Now, could Stephanie keep from blabbering? Maybe, if she did this just right. And, if
she kept it short enough their dad wouldn't come in wondering what was wrong. "I live at 1882
Girard, and Kimmy here lives next door. Stephanie should answer. What's your name?"

"Leo."

"Okay." Leo dialed the number D.J. gave, and the phone rang several times before Stephanie
picked it up. "How rude," she said sleepily.

D.J. took the phone. "Steph, it's D.J, hope you're having a fun dream. Listen. Our friend Loe
wants to ask Kimmy's and my addresses. Tell Leo, and tell him something real about me so he
knows it's real, but don't tell Dad anything, and hang up if he comes in."

"And you think I'm weird. Put him on."

Leo spoke. "Uh, Stephanie...hi. Is there an adult I could speak to?"

D.J. tried hard to listen close. "They're all in bed. D.J. lives at 1882 Girard St., and Kimmy at
1884. Our parents wanted to name D.J. Farrah but Joey talked them out of it."

"Is that in San Francisco?" D.J. couldn't hear the answer, but assumed it was yes.

She took back the phone. "Steph, go back to bed now and close your eyes. This dream's
scripted and...that's how it ends."

As D.J. prepared to hang up, she could hear Stephanie say "I'll never eat that much Halloween
candy before bedtime again."

Once she hung up, Leo asked their addresses and what D.J.'s first name almost was. He also
asked who talked her parents out of that name. "Okay, I guess you're legit. I'll call my friend
and have her take you home."

D.J. and Kimmy took their overnight bags and snuck into Kimmy's house. D.J. was up all
night, though - thinking about the movie, but also wondering if her dad had peeked into her room
at just the right time. And, what was that strange creeping noise in Kimmy's house, anyway?

She carried her overnight bag, complete with her dirty clothes, home the next morning before
school. She heard Stephanie saying "I had the weirdest dream," as she entered the kitchen and
got a hug and kiss from her dad, who was ready to leave for work. "I got a call from D.J. telling
me to tell someone her and Kimmy's addresses, and then she told me to go back to bed. Did you
have any weird dreams after all that candy, Michelle?" Michelle shook her head.

"That's funny." Danny sat back down and noted "I heard your phone ring, Deej, a little after
twelve. I peeked in a couple minutes later and Steph was in bed, though. Did you hear it,
Steph?"

Danny smiled. "That's true. I remember once Joey said he was dreaming about knights
fighting with swords right about the time I was rattling some clothes hangers in his room
cleaning." Danny went off on a long spiel, soemthing D.J. sometimes disliked but for which she
was very thankful this time. She and Kimmy had escaped a potentially very dangerous situation.

But, given her friendship with Kimmy, it was worth it. Her family was great. And, there was
something about it that she hoped Kimmy saw, and wanted to emulate. And, little by little, it
seemed Kimmy got the message. Maybe she didn't admit it right away, but Kimmy - while
providing D.J. with a little relief from the mundane - really loved having D.J. as a friend, and
needed someone like D.J..